Sweet Disposition
by fireandflood
Summary: "He's looking at her like she's everything. Like she's the only patch of shade on the hottest day of the year." Beth's struggle with readjusting to camp life after being by herself for months and the evolution of her relationship with Daryl. AU of the aftermath of the mid-season finale.
1. A Moment Of Love

In the months that she has been alone, Beth thinks that she's gone wild - feral even.

She catches a glimpse of her reflection in a storefront window as she's creeping through town. It pulls her up short because, for a moment, she actually doesn't recognize herself. Her blonde hair is matted with dirt and blood; her face is marred with scars.

She's almost glad that she doesn't look the same anymore. It somehow makes it a little bit easier to acknowledge the changes she's had to make in order to stay alive.

She can't even remember the last time she spoke to a human. It must have been before she ran from the hospital. Beth had stayed there for ages - long enough for her bullet wound to heal and then some. She had kept thinking that maybe the group would come back for her again. It'd taken weeks for her to wrap her mind around the idea that they weren't coming back.

They'd seen her get shot in the head.

They thought she was dead.

Why come back to rescue a dead girl?

She sings herself to sleep sometimes, quiet enough not to attract any walkers, but just so she can remember what it used to be like to feel safe and joyful.

Beth can feel her last can of food shifting around in her almost empty backpack. She's been putting off a run into town for as long as possible, hoping that her traps will start producing some food again. It seems like the walkers have sunken their teeth into anything with a pulse, picking the forest clean of any animals that might have wandered into Beth's snares.

She needs to move on from this place. Her campsite is a few miles out of town, by a small stream. It's set up perfectly in Beth's opinion and she's reluctant to leave. But she knows when the battle is lost and she's not about to starve herself to death for the sake of a stupid campsite.

Her one can of food isn't going to last her long though. She has no idea where the next town is or how far away she'll need to get from here before game starts appearing again. There are signs leading to a big superstore in the middle of town, but Beth knows better than to head there. She's certain that place will be teaming with walkers.

Going in there alone would be like serving herself up to them on a silver platter.

There are a few smaller stores on the outskirts that she feels safer checking out. It shouldn't be too difficult clearing out any walkers that might be trapped in there.

The sun is beating down hard on Beth's already sunburnt neck by the time she reaches the first store. What she wouldn't give for a bottle of sunscreen or even some moisturizer, but she hasn't seen anything like that for almost a year. She can dream though.

One of the windows has been shattered and the shards litter the ground. Beth tries to skirt around the glass, but its everywhere and some of it is still crunching underneath her feet. She freezes. The sound seems loud enough to attract every walker for miles.

There's no movement in the store.

Beth climbs through the broken window, narrowly avoiding the jagged edges of broken glass, instead of going through the door. She doesn't want to risk the chance that there is a bell on the other side.

The store has been mostly cleared out, but her heart soars when she sees a few fallen cans that have rolled beneath the shelves. It's not a lot, but it's better than nothing. It'll be more than enough to keep her going for a week or so. Maybe more if she finds anything else in the other stores. She quickly shoves the cans into her backpack.

A noise in the distance makes Beth whip her head up. There's some sort of commotion going on in the street, not too far from the store she's in. Beth presses herself into the back corner of the store, cursing the lack of other exits. The sound of pounding feet and the crunch of gravel gets closer and closer.

Then the door is shoved open, someone runs in to the store, and the door is slammed behind them.

For a moment, Beth's mind is laughing at the person. If they wanted a place to shelter from incoming walkers, they chose a pretty poor place to hide - the front window is blown out.

But then Beth realizes that she is trapped in this store with an unknown and, if there is anything that she has learnt since this whole ordeal began, it is that people are far more dangerous than walkers could ever be.

The person's breathing is ragged, savagely breaking the silence that Beth has grown to love. She knows that she needs to get the upper hand here. If the other person sees her before she has the time to get a weapon on them, it could very well be the end for her.

Her footsteps are almost silent - Daryl had taught her how to be light on her feet during their time together.

She knows she's only alive right now because she got out of the prison with him. She wouldn't have lasted a week on her own after she fled the hospital without the skills that he had taught her. Sometimes she even hears his voice in her head, giving her pointers on how to aim her weapon as she's about to shoot a hare, reminding her how to read tracks properly when she's on a hunt.

Despite her almost silent tread, the person - a man - seems to hear her approach. He spins around to see her and his weapon is raised fast, but she is faster and her gun is pressed against his forehead before he has a chance to do anything.

"You really want to risk that?" Beth snarls in reference to the tip of a knife that she can feel pressing against her stomach. "A stab wound won't kill me, but it will definitely give me incentive to plaster your brains against the wall."

Beth knows that she wouldn't kill the man, except as a last resort.

But he doesn't need to know that.

"A gunshot would bring every walker for miles straight here. They'd be all over you. You wanna risk that?" The man's voice is almost mocking her.

Mutually assured destruction.

Until one of them lowers their weapon, there's nothing they can do, but Beth is as sure as hell that she isn't going to be the first one to move.

But it takes everything in her power to not take a step back out of shock when the man's eyes widen and his name falls out of his lips.

She hears Daryl's voice in her head telling her not to let up.

"How do you know my name?" Beth presses the gun harder into his forehead, her hand shaking ever so slightly.

"Beth," his hand drops the knife and it clatters to the floor. "Beth, it's me."

"Who are you?" She can feel tears heating up her eyes.

But then there's a rotting hand grabbing at the man's shoulder and the stench of decay.

A walker is clawing its way through the window. She's almost tempted to let it devour the man. He should know better than to drop his weapon. But she needs to know how he knows her name.

Her hand flies to the hilt of her knife, strapped to her belt, and she lunges forward to stick the blade into the too soft forehead of the walker.

As she turns back to face the man, she catches a glimpse of his back.

Of angel wings stitched on to a vest.

Oh.

How had she not realized?

He's looking at her like she's everything. Like she's the only patch of shade on the hottest day of the year.

'Daryl,' his name falls from her lips like rain falling for the first time after a drought.

Something is grabbing her hair and pulling her backwards. She can hear the snarl of the walker as she fights against it, but she can't see it. Beth can only see Daryl, moving his crossbow from his back and aiming it with ease.

The grip on her hair eases as soon as Daryl's bolt hits its mark.

Beth stumbles forward and suddenly his arms are around her. She tenses up, not remembering how to properly interact with humans. But his arms feel safe to her. She hasn't felt safe like that in almost a year, not since she was holed up with him in a funeral home.

The tension leaves her muscles like a flood. Her fingers grasp at his shirt as she presses her face into his shoulder. One of her hands is still clutching the knife and she knows that she's getting walker blood all over him, but she can't find it in herself to pull away. She can feel him resting his head on top of hers and, for a brief moment, she never wants to leave this place.

"Glenn and Michonne are just up the road. They went to check out another store." His voice is quiet and a little bit deeper than she remembers.

"Why did you come barreling in here anyway?" Beth pulls back slightly, just enough that she can see his face in the sunlight shining through the window.

"Got cut off by a pack of walkers just after the others left. Too many to take out on my own, better to just take shelter and let 'em pass," Daryl shrugs. His eyes flick up to the two dead walkers, hanging halfway through the window. "Guess we still make a pretty good team."

Beth pulls away from the embrace, moving towards the door, listening intently. He follows her, hand resting on the small of her back, like she'll disappear again if he's not touching her.

"I can't hear any movement. The pack must have moved on." Beth pauses, considering the options before continuing. "If we're soft on our feet, we should be able to make it to Michonne and Glenn without too much trouble. There's a way out of town not too far away from here. It'll only take us a few minutes to get out if we're quick about it. "

"You know this town well," he murmurs, his hand still pressing softly against her back.

"I've been camping out here for weeks."

He nods and Beth is so grateful that he doesn't ask any more questions. There'll be time for that later. She wants to know about the others. Is her sister still alive? What about Judith?

She's afraid to ask.

"The rest of the group's camped not too far out. Shouldn't take us long to get there."

Beth jerks her head hesitantly in what she means to be a nod of affirmation. She's scared though. She doesn't remember how to be around humans. She only knows how to be by herself now.

She doesn't know how the others will react to the feral being that she has become.

"It'll work out," Daryl is practically reading her thoughts. "There's always a place for you with us, Beth."

She'd forgotten how good they had become at reading each other during their time together.

They creep out of the store together. Beth wants to latch her hand to his, but they both need their hands on their weapons. She can see Glenn and Michonne waiting for Daryl at the crossroads not too far away. As they get closer, the look of confusion on both of their faces comes into view.

They don't recognize her.

She doesn't blame them, Beth doesn't really recognize herself.

Beth sees Glenn's expression change as she gets closer and he realizes that it's her. The look of disbelief on his face is almost enough to make her laugh.

Almost.

He makes a move to run towards her, but all of their ears are met with the sounds of shuffling feet.

Hundreds of shuffling feet.

A herd.

They have no choice but to run.

* * *

It feels like hours before they make it out of town and it seems safe enough to collapse to the ground. Beth's body is worn out from the combination of exhaustion and too little food. She stumbles over a tree root and falls to the floor. She has just enough energy to scoot herself over so her back is leaning against the tree trunk, but that's the last of what she has left in her body.

It's only a moment before a hand is cradling the back of her head and another is holding an open bottle of water up to her lips. She drinks greedily before remembering that the world ended and things like clean water can't be used up all at once.

She pushes the bottle away gently, looking up into Daryl's face. She can't quite stop herself from putting a hand on his cheek, needing to ground herself, a reminder that this is real and not a dream. He doesn't shy away from her touch; maybe he needs this just as much as she does.

"Eat," he orders, producing an apple from his pack and pressing it into her hand.

"Where did you get this?" It's been ages since she's had fruit.

"We're camped by some apple trees. Plenty of them there."

There's a crashing noise as Glenn and Michonne come running into view. Beth hadn't realized how far ahead she and Daryl had gotten.

Glenn looks at her like he can't believe what is right in front of him and Michonne is hovering a little bit behind him, a faint smile tugging at the edge of her lips.

"Hey guys," Beth waves awkwardly. She's not sure what the protocol is for reuniting with family after being presumed dead for months.

That seems to break Glenn out of his trance and suddenly he's on his knees next to her and is throwing his arms around her shoulders.

"Glenn, don't choke her. How would you tell Maggie that her sister came back from the dead only for you to suffocate her?" Michonne teases.

Something stirs in her stomach at the mention of her sister's name - something that she hasn't felt for ages.

Hope.

"Maggie? She's alive?"

Glenn nods, "She's at the camp. She was so angry that Rick wouldn't let her come on this run. She'll be even more livid when she realizes that she could have been with us when you showed up."

She wants to know about the others but she is afraid. So completely afraid of what she might find out.

"Carol, Sasha, Ty, Noah, Rick, Carl, and Judith are all with us." Daryl's hand finds its way to hers and squeezes gently in reassurance.

"Judith?" Beth can feel the hot tears in her eyes.

"You forgot Tara, Eugene, Abraham, and Rosita." Glenn chimes in.

"She doesn't know them." Daryl's tone is sharp.

"Oh." Glenn pauses, "the days have kind of blurred together. I forgot how long you've been gone."

Daryl looks like he wants to pull out his crossbow and shoot Glenn.

* * *

Her stomach is in knots as they walk back to the camp. Daryl said there would always be a place for her, but what if he's wrong? What if they just see her as a burden? Maybe she can test the waters, and then sneak away in the middle of the night if it's too much.

Daryl reaches out a hand to help her scramble over a fallen tree. His hand is warm in hers and her eyes rise up to meet his. He's looking at her the same way as that night on the porch when they were drunk on moonshine.

For a moment, it's just the two of them again. The nerves in her stomach calm and everything is okay. She has a place, she has a reason to keep moving, she has someone to be with.

And then Michonne moves into her sightline and the spell is broken.

"Almost there, Greene." Daryl drops her hand as they start walking again. "Your sister will be pleased to see you."

Beth doesn't miss the way his shoulders tense up and the annoyance flowing under his voice when he mentions Maggie.

"Did you and Maggie have a fight or something?" Beth looks at him expectantly.

Daryl stops walking. "Why'd you think that?"

Beth shrugs, "It was just the two of us for a long time, I know how to read you."

Daryl looks away for a moment. When he looks back at her, his eyes seem darker. "I don't like the way she handled something."

"Handled what?"

"Not now, Beth."

"Why not now?" It's clear that a lot has happened since she last saw the group.

"Because I don't want you to be angry when you finally see your sister again." Daryl rubs the back of his neck, looking at the ground and not meeting her eyes.

Beth's taken aback, but doesn't press it any further. There'll be time for that later.

* * *

"Group's back!" Beth can hear Rick's call even though she's not quite at the camp yet. His voice cuts through the trees. "Find anything good?"

"We ran into a heard, couldn't get more than a few cans of food," Glenn's voice answers.

"Found something better though." Even without seeing her, Beth knows that Michonne is almost laughing.

The group falls silent when Daryl and Beth break through the trees.

Beth's eyes survey the group in front of her. Judith looks so big in Rick's arms. Carl is probably taller than she is now. Maggie's hair is so much longer than she remembers.

Maggie.

Her sister leaves Glenn's side, staggering towards her.

"Beth?" Maggie chokes out in disbelief.

"Hey," Beth swallows the lump that is rapidly growing at the back on her throat.

And then Maggie is throwing herself at her, just like Glenn had, and sobbing into her shoulder. Beth tenses up again, not enjoying all of this sudden contact. It's too much for her. She keeps waiting for the tension to release, to get used to it just like she had with Daryl earlier, but the relief doesn't come.

Beth is aware of other members of the group surrounding them, all trying to hug her and tell her that they can't believe she's back, but Maggie won't let go.

Maggie's babbling through her tears and Beth can't quite make out everything she's saying. There's a stammered apology over and over though. Then Beth realizes that Maggie saying sorry for not looking for her after the prison fell.

That she thought Beth never made it out alive.

Beth raises her head and meets Daryl's eyes over her sister's shoulder. She sees the look of sorrow in his eyes.

**Author's Note: This story will be 8 chapters long and each chapter will be loosely based off of a lyric from the chorus of the song "Sweet Disposition" by The Temper Trap (check the chapter name for the lyric!). Thanks for reading, lovelies. I hope to hear your thoughts on here or over on tumblr (fireandflood). Have a beautiful day!**


	2. A Dream

It hurts like hell and Beth isn't one to pretend like it doesn't. She's long past the point of letting others walk all over her. Maybe in the past, she would have let it slide for the sake of having a beautiful, tearful reunion with her only living family.

Not anymore.

"You didn't care enough to look for me." Beth doesn't phrase it like a question. It feels like a fact to her.

"Beth, no." Maggie shakes her head frantically. "It wasn't that at all. I found the bus and there was no one left and I just thought -"

"That I was too weak to make it out alive." Beth's tone is sharp. She can hear the way it whistles through the air and slices the silence.

Maggie is staring at her, mouth hanging open like she has nothing left to say.

But Beth knows Maggie too well. Maggie always has something to say.

They have a screaming match right then and there, in front of everyone.

They yell at each other until their throats are sore and they start to lose their voices. That doesn't take long for Beth; her vocal cords haven't been used this much in months.

Beth's chest is heaving and she can feel tears prickling at the back of her eyes, but she feels better.

She's not one to be walked over like a doormat anymore, so she's gotten her feelings out.

But she's also not one to let something that happened almost a year ago ruin her reunion with her sister.

She steps forward and throws her arms around a very shocked Maggie.

"I'm still pissed off, but I forgive you," she whispers into her sister's hair and she feels Maggie's body sag with relief.

"I'm so sorry, Bethy."

Her heart tightens painfully at the old nickname.

Beth's cheeks flood with blood and her face heats up with embarrassment as they become aware of the rest of the group milling around them.

There are new people here that she's never met before.

And the first impression they have of her is not the nicest. She wouldn't think very highly of someone waltzing into camp and engaging in a shouting match almost immediately, so she can only imagine what they must think of her.

Beth's face is flushed red as she lets Maggie lead her over to take a seat next to the fire, where Tyreese and Sasha have a rabbit and a few squirrels roasting on a makeshift spit.

More than anything, she just wants to disappear into the woods and have a few moments of quiet. Her argument with Maggie has left her head pounding and the noise of camp isn't doing anything to help. She's so used to only hearing the sounds of nature and her own movements. It's jarring to be in such a loud place all of a sudden. She knows that it's probably not actually that loud. Walkers would be swarming the place if it was, but it seems almost earsplitting to Beth.

The sun is starting to set and Beth knows that everyone will be making their way over here soon to scrap up whatever they can for dinner. There'll be some meat for everyone, but not enough to fully satisfy the gnawing feeling of emptiness present in all of their stomachs. Beth feels awful. She's shown up out of nowhere and given them another hungry mouth to feed that they hadn't been expecting.

"Where are you going?" Maggie asks when Beth stands up.

"Bathroom," Beth mumbles awkwardly. She hasn't had to explain to anywhere where she's going for months. "No," she cries out quickly when Maggie stands to go with her, "I won't be long."

Beth can see the look of hesitation on Maggie's face when it comes to letting Beth out of her sight, but she just needs a few moments alone to gather her thoughts. She hasn't had a single second to think since she held a gun to Daryl's forehead.

She pats her pockets, making sure that she had all of her weapons before she sets off.

The gun that she had stolen from the body of a rotting walker a few months ago, strapped into the holster on her left.

The knife she had been given back at the prison, which she had managed to recover from storage before running from the hospital, slipped into its sheath on her right.

The shoddily made slingshot that she had crafted just a few days after her escape, knowing that she would need a long range weapon in order to survive, tucked neatly away in her waistband along with some stones in her right pocket.

She's had to replace parts and mend that slingshot so many times that it doesn't even resemble the one that she had escaped with, but it is still one of her most prized possessions.

It's like a material manifestation of her desire to survive; She feels naked without it.

Daryl's eyes are on her as she leaves the camp. Beth can see it written on his face that he wants to follow her. Just like Maggie, he doesn't want to let her out of his sight again.

But Daryl isn't like Maggie.

Daryl didn't forget about her for months on end. Daryl didn't assume she was dead until he saw her get shot in the head right in front of his eyes. He didn't assume anything until he held her limp and lifeless body in his arms.

Dr. Edwards had later explained to her that her heartbeat had been so faint and her breathing so shallow, that even he had struggled to realize that she was alive. She doesn't fault Daryl for not realizing.

They may live in a world where the dead rise again, but they don't usually come back like she has.

Beth has forgiven her sister, but she isn't going to pretend like this hasn't put a strain on their relationship, just like Daryl had hinted it would when they spoke earlier.

Her eyes catch his as she's about to step into the woods. For a split second, he makes to follow her, but she shakes her head ever so slightly and he steps back.

She just needs a moment.

A moment alone before her life is filled with noise again.

Beth walks farther than she probably should in the setting sun. The quiet of the woods is soothing after the noise of camp. It's worrying already.

If she can't last a few hours with other people, how is she supposed to live the rest of her life back with the group?

The noise of leaves scattering shakes her out of her thoughts. A squirrel freezes at the trunk of a tree when it sees her. For a moment they just stare at each other. Beth moves her hand very slowly to withdraw a stone and her slingshot.

It's a horrible way to make a kill - when the animal is staring directly into her eyes. She hates it, but she thinks back to the amount of people at camp and the small amount of meat she had seen on the spit.

She lets the stone fly without a second thought and watches as it hits its mark.

* * *

The sun has almost completely set when she finally makes it back to camp and sees Daryl waiting for her just along the edge of the trees.

"Don't worry, I didn't run off," Beth jokes as she approaches him.

He grunts in response, eyeing the squirrel hanging from her belt. "How'd you get that?"

"Slingshot."

Daryl looks at the weapon in question and nods. "Might be able to get you some stronger wood for that. Don't want those cracks to get any bigger." He gestures to the splintering wood of the frame.

For a moment she's a little bit protective of her slingshot, but she knows he's right. She doesn't need her weapon breaking on her in the face of an oncoming walker.

She nods. "Thanks."

"Everyone's by the campfire, eating dinner."

"Think they'd notice if I didn't join them?"

"Maggie'd probably throw a blue fit."

Beth nods in agreement. "I didn't realize how much noise the group made until today. We were always this loud? After the farm? In the prison?"

"You grew up around that much noise. Not something you would've noticed til now," Daryl points out. "But yeah. Group was always this loud. S'why I go off on hunts and runs by myself a lot of the time. Just needed a break from the racket."

"Mind if I start joining you on those?"

There's a pause between them and all Beth can think of is the time between the moonshine shack and the funeral home. The time when they'd finally been close enough to understand one another, when they'd become partners in everything.

"Like old times." Daryl says slowly, the barest hint of a smile gracing his lips.

Beth nods.

* * *

"You alright?" Daryl asks quietly when Beth settles herself down next to him later that night, sides pressed together and backs resting against the tree trunk.

Beth knows immediately that he's referring to the debacle at dinner. Carl had asked her how she could possible still be alive after being shot through the head and Maggie had practically jumped down his throat in her haste to tell him that Beth would share her story in her own time.

"Yeah, don't think I'd ever been as happy to have Maggie be an overprotective big sister as I was right then. I'm just not ready for that kind of attention, you know?"

Daryl makes a noise of agreement.

"Why are you on watch duty anyway? You went on a run today, doesn't really seem like an equal distribution of labour to me."

"I volunteered," he says simply.

"Of course you did," Beth smiles. Daryl isn't one to let himself rest before others, even when he really needs it.

Silence falls between them for some time. It's comfortable, reminiscent of nights long ago. The camp is quiet except for the sounds of people breathing deeply in sleep. Beth can hear one of the new guys snoring and she wonders if it has ever gotten them into trouble, if a walker has ever found its way to camp led solely by those snores.

"You should be sleeping," Daryl's quiet voice breaks the silence.

Beth shakes her head, "I'm not used to sleeping a full night. You can't do that when you're by yourself. You have to watch your back."

There's a pause.

"I'm not going to let anything get you, Beth."

_Not again. _

The unspoken words hang in the air between them and Beth can tell by the regret in his voice that Daryl blames himself for what happened to her.

"I know." Beth says slowly, her eyes staring into his. "You'd never let anything happen to me, Daryl Dixon."

Daryl looks away from her and she knows that he understood what she was saying to him.

That he wasn't at fault for what happened.

But she also knows it'll take a long time before he realizes that himself.

She lets him off the hook for now, though.

"Can't sleep with this many people around, anyway. Just not used to it, I guess," Beth shrugs.

"It'll take time."

Beth slowly rests her head on his shoulder, like she had done a few times in the nights before they were separated. His muscles tense beneath her and for a moment she's afraid that he'll pull away, but then he relaxes, his hand sliding over to where her hand lays on the ground and a few of his fingers cover hers.

"What happened to you after they took me?" She'd thought about Daryl every day in that hospital, praying that he was safe.

Daryl is quiet for a moment. "Ran after that damn car for as long as I could."

Beth's breath catches in her throat. She knew that Daryl never gave up on her, but she hadn't realized just what that meant.

"Some other group found me in the middle of a crossroad. Couldn't figure out which way the car had gone."

"Were they good?" Beth questions.

Daryl's silence is enough to tell her everything that she needs to know.

"Oh."

Daryl's shoulder tenses when she mutters that word and his fingers tighten over hers.

"Get some sleep, Beth," he says gently.

He's looking at her just like he had in the kitchen over the jars of peanut butter and jelly and that ridiculous thank you note.

* * *

Beth wakes up to hushed voices.

"Sorry Beth," Rick's voice greets her as she lifts her head from Daryl's shoulder, "we didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay," she's alert in a way that she never used to be after just waking up. Being alone had wiped the grogginess right out of her.

"It's Rick's turn for guard duty," Daryl explains, standing up and offering a hand to pull Beth to her feet.

She takes it.

Rick nods at them and takes the place they've just vacated.

"Can I stay with you?" Beth asks as they move away from Rick and towards the rest of the group.

"Maggie probably wants you close to her." Daryl's voice is quiet, but Beth notices that some of the annoyance that she'd heard when he spoke about Maggie earlier has gone.

"It's easier with you."

And it is.

She's not sure why, but Daryl is the only one who doesn't make her feel claustrophobic at the moment.

"Here good?" Daryl stops walking when they're close enough to the group to be safe, but still far enough away to not feel crowded.

Beth spreads out a blanket on the ground, not wanting the cold ground to draw away any of their heat and settles down.

Daryl stands awkwardly for a moment, hands fidgeting, before he sets himself down just to the right of the blanket.

"Don't be ridiculous," Beth whispers, tugging on his arm until he joins her on the blanket. She tells herself that they'll be warmer the closer they are, but she knows there is more than just that at play in her desire to have him close by.

They each have their own blanket to curl up under, but it's still far too cold. Beth edges slightly closer to him, just enough to feel his warmth, but not enough to make either of them feel uncomfortable.

"You got stuff at your camp that you want to get tomorrow?" Daryl mutters just as he's drifting off.

"Not much. I had some extra blankets though. Might be nice to go get them."

"I'll go with you tomorrow," Daryl gets out before he falls asleep.

Beth doesn't sleep. She had more sleep than she's used to earlier in the night. She just lies on her back and watches the stars, listening to Daryl's deep and even breathing beside her.

It's comforting.

It's not long before his breaths turn uneven and shallow. He's muttering in his sleep and his muscles are clenched. It's not loud enough to attract anyone else's attention, but it worries her.

"Daryl," she tries to keep her voice even and calm as she places a gentle hand on his arm to wake him.

The muttering gets a little bit louder, just enough for her to be able to make out what he is saying.

It's her name.

Over and over again.

"Daryl," she repeats, a little bit louder this time, squeezing his arm gently.

His eyes slam open and his breathing calms down.

Daryl's eyes find Beth's in the moonlight. He reaches out a hand to tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear. Moving closer to him, she tangles their fingers together and he breathes out a deep sigh of relief.

"I'm still here," she reassures him. "I'm not going anywhere."

Daryl nods and clutches her hand just a little bit tighter.

**Author's Note: My goodness! I can't even begin to say how grateful I am for the response to this story. You've all been so kind and every review/favourite/follow has brought a smile to my face. Thank you for reading!**


	3. A Laugh

"Cooked or raw?" Sasha asks Beth the next morning.

"Sorry?" Beth's mind is still bleary from getting far more sleep than she is used to and she can't quite wrap her head around what is being asked of her. All of the awake parts of her mind are still too focused on processing what had happened with Daryl last night.

"For breakfast," Sasha clarifies, "Cooked apples or raw apples?" Sasha gestures to the two buckets close to the fire.

"Thanks," Beth musters up a smile and grabs a raw apple out of one of the buckets.

"I'm sick of apples." Carl mutters, picking at a cooked apple, as she sits down next to him. "What's the point of a cooked apple if it's not in an apple pie?"

Beth just smiles at him and munches away on her breakfast, savouring the burst of sweet juice in her mouth as she bites into the fruit. She's only been here for one night, so the novelty of apples hasn't worn off on her yet.

It clearly has on the others though.

"I hear that." Glenn says to Carl in agreement. "If I try hard enough though, I can almost feel the pastry melting in my mouth around the apple. Can practically taste the cinnamon too."

"Beth, do you remember those apple things you used to make for us?" Maggie pipes up, moving from beside Glenn to sit next to her.

"Thanks for being so specific, Maggie." Beth shakes her head at her sister. Maggie could be referring to any one of the many apple things she used to make for their family before the dead started walking. Her daddy had loved apples, so she and her mom used to try a new apple recipe every Sunday.

"You would cook a whole apple, but wrap some pastry around it? It was like having our own little apple pie." The whimsical look on Maggie's face is almost laughable, but they've all been there - lusting after food that they can't have.

"Apple dumplings?" Beth swears she can hear Carl and Glenn practically salivating next to her.

"Yeah!" Maggie exclaims, but then she looks down at her own pastry-less apple sadly and adds, "I miss pastry."

"I miss cake." The words are out of Beth's mouth before she even realizes them. She hasn't thought about dessert in a long time.

"Crying over food that is long gone isn't going to help anyone." Rick chimes in as he walks up and grabs a raw apple. He calls everyone over for a meeting. "Now, Daryl and Beth managed to bag us some meat yesterday, but we all know that most of the game in this area is gone. It's time for us to move on from here."

There's a murmuring of agreement throughout the group.

"Where are we heading?" Tyreese asks from where he is standing next to his sister.

"We shouldn't head out without a plan," Noah adds.

"Staying here means starving to death," Carol joins in, moving to stand next to Daryl.

"We wouldn't starve. We have apples." Michonne points out, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

A groan rises up from the group at the thought of continuing to eat only apples.

Through the discussion, Beth's eyes move to Daryl. He's standing next to Carol quietly, tossing an apple from hand to hand. She can tell by his restlessness that he wants to get on. They've been standing still for too long, he's ready to move. His eyes rise to meet hers and she nods her head at him.

"Well while you all argue and try to figure this mess out, Beth and I are going back to her camp to grab supplies," Daryl grabs another apple out of the bucket as he walks and tosses it her way.

She catches it right before it's about to smack her in the nose. Beth rises to her feet, pats herself down to make sure she has all of her weapons, and follows him.

"Shouldn't someone go with you?" Maggie makes to stand up and follow them.

"We were by ourselves for weeks after the prison. We can handle it." Daryl says as he swings his pack and crossbow across his shoulders. He grabs the strap of Beth's dusty old bag and holds it out for her as she reaches him.

"We won't be long, my camp isn't too far away. We'll be back in a few hours." Beth raises a hand in farewell before slipping into the trees after Daryl, leaving the group stunned into silence in their wake.

* * *

It's eerily quiet in the forest.

No bird singing, no squirrels jumping about the trees, no hooves snapping fallen branches.

Occasionally, Beth thinks she can hear the rustling of nearby leaves, but nothing comes into sight. She knows there must be a few animals left in these trees, but if they've lasted this long without getting caught by humans or walkers, they know well enough to not let themselves be seen.

"Did you anticipate this?" Once they're far enough away from camp that Beth starts to feel like she can breathe again, she breaks the quiet hanging in the air between them.

"What?" Daryl asks from behind her. He's letting her lead the way to her camp, picking their path carefully through the trees.

"The walkers turning on animals and wiping the forest clean."

"It was always going to happen," Daryl moves up to walk alongside her. "Walkers have always gone after animals. They'll sink their teeth into anything with blood and a pumping heart."

Beth frowns, trying to remember if she's seen a walker eat anything other than human flesh. "I've never seen them go after animals before."

"Back before we met your family, a walker got a deer I'd been tracking for ages. When we were looking for Sophia too - that girl we were looking for at your farm-" Daryl breaks off, looking over at her just to make sure she knows what he's talking about, "had to cut open a walker's stomach to see what it ate. Found a squirrel."

Beth wrinkles her nose in disgust, but she gets it. They've all had to do horrible things since the world turned.

"It's how Rick found our group anyhow. Walkers took down his horse and he had to take shelter."

"I didn't know that." Beth wonders just how much she doesn't know about the time before the group reached their farm.

There's a beat of silence.

"So what are we going to do then? If walkers are going after animals, we're never going to find a place that hasn't been picked clean."

"Just got to find a place with less walkers, that's all."

Beth mulls it over before speaking, "I don't think places like that exist anymore."

Daryl nudges her shoulder with his, "Who's the negative one now?"

She smiles and presses her lips together, feeling her cheeks heat up just a little bit.

Beth almost wants to bring up the night before.

She wants to know what it means for her name to be falling out of Daryl's lips while he sleeps. She's aching to understand the significance behind their tangled fingers and the looks they exchange across camp.

But she doesn't.

She's aching to know but she's afraid. It's been so long and so much has happened within the group that she doesn't know about. She's not sure if this is something or if it's all in her head.

Maybe it could have been something if she hadn't been taken.

Or if she hadn't been shot and left for dead.

But those things had happened, driving a wedge between herself and Daryl and all the progress they had made and all the things that might have been.

So she finds herself asking something else that she's dying to know instead.

"How did you find the group again?"

Daryl stops walking.

Beth turns to face him and he's looking at her with such brokenness in his eyes that it takes everything in Beth to not slide her arms around his middle and hold him close.

But just as soon as that look had appeared, it's gone again, hidden behind the walls that Daryl has constructed around his entire being.

The walls that Beth had been so close to breaking her way through before everything went wrong.

He clears his throat. "The group I was with, they were following someone. They said he'd killed one of their group and they wanted pay back."

Somehow, Beth knows what he's going to say before the name comes out of his mouth.

"It was Rick."

Beth listens to the whole story carefully. Her stomach rolls as Daryl finally tells her about this other group, about 'claiming', and tracking Rick like it was a sport.

She clenches her fists and her dirty fingernails dig painfully into her calloused palms as he speaks about Terminus, how they were kept like cattle and raised for slaughter.

Her heart starts beating faster, thudding against her rib cage as he relays what it was like to see the car that took her again, how he had chased after it with Carol and everything leading up to that hostage exchange in the hospital corridor.

She'd heard some of that part already from Carol in the hospital, but it's so different coming from him.

And then his voice breaks ever so slightly when he tells her about carrying her body out of the hospital, how she felt like a broken doll in his arms, how Maggie fell to the ground in anguish.

Beth can't stop herself from moving to him and slipping her arms around his middle, holding him like she had outside the moonshine shack. She can feel the way his shuddering breaths move through his body and she holds him even tighter, tucking her head underneath his chin. It doesn't take long for his arms to snake around her too, his hands first cupping her elbows gently before surrounding her entirely.

After a moment, she lifts her head away from his chest and realizes how close their faces are.

Beth can see every fleck of colour in his eyes and feel his heart beat against her own as their bodies are melded together.

He's looking at her so deeply, like he can see straight through her body and into her very soul and all she can think is _oh._

She can feel her heartbeat picking up and she knows he can feel it too, slamming against her ribcage and passing the sensation through into his body.

It's almost more than she can handle, but she can't move. She's caught in his gaze and in the memories of unfinished conversations.

Of what could have been and what should have been.

But then Daryl's arms are loosening and his hands are sliding back down her arms and he is stepping away from her, looking down at the ground.

He starts walking again.

"Daryl," Beth calls out his name, but he just keeps moving forward.

She tries again.

Nothing.

"You're going the wrong way."

That catches his attention.

She points to her right, not hiding the giggles that bubble up inside of her as he stalks sheepishly past her in the direction that she's pointing.

* * *

Once they reach her little camp, it doesn't take them long to pack up what few possessions she has. The small tent that she had scavenged months ago is a little bit torn and tattered, but it's better than nothing. The few blankets and extra clothes she had stashed in her tent are store away safely in her pack. Daryl packs away the few food cans that she had hidden under a tree root in his bag.

"Is it worth bringing these?" Beth asks, running a finger along the string of her noisemaker, strung between the trees.

Daryl thinks for a moment, "Probably not. We've got enough at camp."

Beth nods, biting her lip. It's really just a bunch of garbage: bits of broken glass, cans, and bottles. It's nothing to miss, but for some reason, Beth is finding it hard to leave behind. It had taken her so long to collect all of these things. It feels like a string of memories to her.

Daryl senses her hesitation. "Someone else might find it. Might help them out of a difficult spot."

"You're right. It could save a life." Beth lets out a deep breath and steps away from the noisemaker, shaking her head.

"We should fill up our bottles before we leave. There's a stream not too far away."

They're just heading down to the stream when Beth sees something on the ground and hears a noise close by.

"Beth?" Daryl questions as she stops walking.

Beth holds a finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet.

She never really thought she'd be the one reminding Daryl to be quiet on a hunt.

He probably doesn't realize this is a hunt though. She smiles to herself as she realizes that she saw the tracks and heard the noises that he missed. He taught her well - maybe a little too well.

She holds her hand up, telling him to stop walking without actually speaking to him. She can see the question in his eyes as he stays where he is and she keeps moving. It's clear that he doesn't want to let her out of his sight, but she wants to surprise him and she can tell by the tracks and noises that she won't be gone more than a few minutes. If it had been any animal but this, she would have let him come with her, but the temptation to see the look on his face when she holds out this kill is just too great.

Her eyes scan the ground, looking for the one final thing she needs to make this work. She spots it just a little off of the tracks and swoops low to pick up the forked stick before following the trail again.

Hardly five minutes have passed before she's back by Daryl's side.

"Beth, you can't just leave without an explanation like that," he sounds frustrated as she approaches him.

But then she moves her hands out from behind her back and holds out her kill.

A rattlesnake.

Daryl stops talking and just stands there quietly for a moment.

For a second, she is worried that he doesn't remember the last time they ate snake together, back when tensions were high, but right before things changed between them.

But then he starts laughing.

Beth thought that she might never hear that sound again. It had taken her so long to coax a laugh out of him when they were together and it had slowly gotten easier and easier, but with all the time apart, Beth had thought she would be back to square one.

She can't help but join in on the laughter.

* * *

They eat snake with roasted apples and a few cans of beans that night. Given the size of the group, there's not a lot of meat to go around, but it's better than nothing.

While they were out, the group had decided to stick around for one more night and head off in the morning. Some people had gone into town and raided the majority of the stores. They'd come back with enough canned goods to last them a week or so on the road. Maybe longer if they can find any of the remaining game.

As she picks away at her snake, Beth keeps looking up to see Daryl watching her from across the fire.

She's not sure if it's the flames or if she's imagining the heat and intensity in his gaze.

Or maybe it's something else entirely.

The only thing that Beth is sure of is that her eyes are funnelling the same heat straight back at him.

**Author's Note: You guys! I have been so overwhelmed with all the support for this story! Seriously, all of your kind words have left me speechless. Thank you so much for your support! Please let me know what you think of this new chapter and have a lovely day! Remember that you can find me over on tumblr (fireandflood) and chat with me there too!**


	4. A Kiss

"She's been here for almost 2 days now."

"No," Rick's tone is firm.

"But Dad," Carl's practically begging him now.

"Did you forget what happened last time? Do you want to get beat up by Maggie, Carl?"

It doesn't take a genius for Beth to figure out what Carl is asking his dad. He wants to know how Beth is alive. She takes a quick glance around the group as they trek steadily onwards to their unknown destination. More than a few of them are staring at her, hastily averting their eyes when she looks their way.

They all want to know.

"It's okay, Rick."

Rick jumps at the sound of Beth's soft voice and a smile tugs at the corners of Beth's lips. He must not have realized that she's been walking behind him for the past mile or so.

"You've got something you want to ask me, Carl?" Beth asks him sweetly. She has no problems telling the curious kid how she survived, but she also wants to see him squirm a little bit.

A hush falls over the group. Any side conversations between the others have stopped and everyone has their attention focused on Beth.

Carl looks decidedly uncomfortable now that the moment has arrived. His eyes keep shifting to Maggie, who looks a little bit like she wants to strangle the boy. Beth shoots her a smile to calm her down just a little bit.

"Um," Carl moves his eyes downward, focusing on the gravel road they've been following, "how did you...you know."

"How did I what?" Carl can't see her because he's looking down, but Beth is pressing her lips together to stop herself from giggling at the boy's awkwardness.

"Survive a bullet through the head." His eyes are trained entirely on the ground as he mutters the last few words.

"Thanks for having the guts to ask, Carl," she says warmly, just to make sure that he knows she isn't angry with him.

Taking a deep breath and making sure that everyone's attention is on her because she definitely does not want to have to repeat herself, Beth launches into the story. She tells them about waking up in the hospital and not knowing where she was, the bullet had robbed her of all memories since watching her father die.

At that, she feels Daryl stiffen beside her.

Hastily, she tells them that the memories came back after some time. She wonders if the others see the way Daryl's shoulders relax at her words or if it's just in her head.

Beth tells them about how Doctor Edwards had explained everything to her. How she'd stabbed Dawn and been shot. How her group had carried her out of the building to give her a proper burial, only to be swarmed by a herd and have to leave her body behind. Then he'd told her about hearing her faint heartbeat and rushing her into life saving surgery.

"I think he talked himself up a lot. I mean, how difficult can brain surgery be anyway?" Beth tries to make a joke to lighten the mood, but it falls flat.

"So they just let you go after you were healed?" Carl is hanging off her every word.

"No. They wanted me to work off my debt, just like the last time."

"How'd you get out then?" Maggie asks.

"Turns out I'm a pretty fast runner."

She tells them about the months she spent by herself. How Daryl's lessons came back to her and kept her alive. She looks over at him as she says that and sees a faint red tinge across his cheeks.

"Did you run into trouble with any other groups?" Rick questions.

"A few times." Beth's tone is sharp, making it clear that she wasn't about to talk about that with the others.

Some things are better kept secret.

* * *

"We can't keep sleeping outside with Judy like this. It's too dangerous," says Beth later that afternoon as she bounces the young girl on her knee.

"She needs shelter," Carol nods her agreement, reaching over to tuck a stand of Judith's blonde hair behind her ear.

"She needs a home. We all do," Carl's voice sounds from across the clearing where they're setting up camp for the evening.

There's silence after his words.

He's right. Spending day after day on the road and on the run is no way for Judith to grow up. It's no way for Carl to spend the remainder of his teenage years either.

They can't keep on like this, always a moment or wrong step away from death.

They need to find somewhere they can stay permanently. Somewhere like the prison, but more isolated.

Daryl clears his throat. "We're pretty close to Toccoa. Used to head up that way hunting before this mess began. A few lakes nearby too and, unless walkers started swimming, they're probably still stocked with fish. There'll be some campgrounds around the lakeshore with cabins and the like. Might not be too bad of a place to set up."

The group is slow to express their opinions, considering the options before them. Soon enough though, the group is voicing their approval.

"We'll try and find some vehicles to take us the rest of the way tomorrow then." Rick nods his agreement. "Do you think you could find the way from here, Daryl?"

Beth doesn't wait to hear his answer. She knows that Daryl will be able to get them there with minimal trouble; she has no doubt in his abilities.

Judith babbles some nonsensical words from her position on Beth's lap and she turns her attention back to the young girl. Greedy fingers reach up and Judy tries to stuff some of Beth's blonde hair into her mouth.

"No, no Judy," Beth laughs, "hair is for looking pretty and keeping your head warm, not for eating, silly girl."

Judith claps her hands together and giggles in response

"Soon your hair is going to be long enough for me to braid it. Would you like that, little one?"

"Brainwashing her into your style at a young age, are you?" A teasing voice meets her ears.

"Hey Daryl," Beth smiles at him as he kneels down next to her and Judith.

"I'm about to head out and see if the game is any better up here," he says.

Beth knows this is his way of inviting her along on the hunt without actually saying as much.

"Hang on, just let me pass Judith along to someone else and I'll come with you."

Daryl nods and shifts his weight from foot to foot as he waits for her.

Beth stands up and casts her eyes around the camp, looking for someone to take care of Judy with she hunts for dinner with Daryl. Sasha and Ty are building the fire. Carol and Carl are putting up their few tents. Rick and the others are stringing the noisemakers between the trees and securing the clearing.

"Oh." Beth's shoulder's sag a little bit at her realization. "I guess I'm on Judy duty then."

Daryl shrugs. "Tomorrow then. Besides, this little tyke will be big enough to come along soon enough anyway." Daryl reaches out and ruffles Judith's hair.

Judy responds by blowing a raspberry in his direction and then bursting out into giggles.

Beth laughs. "I think that means she agrees with you." She pauses, "You'll be okay by yourself?"

"Of course," Daryl makes to leave, but he turns around at the last moment and gently tugs on the strand of hair that Judy had pulled out of Beth's braid, "I'm always okay, you know that."

He leaves quickly after that, not meeting Beth's eyes.

* * *

"He should be back by now, don't you think?" Beth tries to keep her voice calm and her eyes trained on the fire. She doesn't want to betray just how nervous she is thinking by glancing at the tree line every few seconds.

Daryl should have been back before sunset.

Sunset had been almost an hour ago.

"He's probably just tracking something," Rick dismisses, "nothing to worry about."

But Beth is worried. She's fraught with nervousness. What if something had happened to him? Something that could have been avoided if only she had gone with him on the hunt.

Beth remembers being back on her family's farm, back when she didn't really know Daryl. Back then, he had just been the man who lived on the edge of the farm and never spoke to her. She remembered him looking for that little girl and coming back from his search with an arrow sticking out of her torso.

What if something like that had happened again? Only what if it was worse this time and he couldn't walk? What if he's currently lying out in the woods, unable to get back to her, just waiting for the closest walker to stumble across him.

But then her thoughts are interrupted by the sounds of their noisemakers and a figure staggering into the clearing.

Without really thinking, Beth thrusts Judith towards whoever is sitting next to her. Once she can feel that Carl has a solid grip on the small child, she takes off running towards the figure.

"Beth?" Daryl's voice sounds wrong as she runs towards him.

As she gets closer, she can see the blood oozing out of a gash on his forehead glistening in the moonlight.

"Daryl!" She exclaims, immediately moving forward to support him when she sees just how unsteady he is on his feet. "What happened?"

"Damn rock fell on me on the way back. Must have passed out for awhile." Daryl explains as Rick runs up and supports him on the other side.

It worries Beth how quickly he accepts help from the two of them to walk to the fire. She knows he would normally put up a fight; it shows her just how unsteady he must be feeling.

Once they have him settled by the fire and Sasha is tending to his wound with their sparse stash of medical supplies, Daryl speaks up again.

"I know I missed dinner, but I found us some meat." He tosses out a few squirrels and a rabbit that he had clipped to his belt that Beth and Rick had somehow missed.

"Only you would almost get killed and still somehow manage to bring back dinner." Beth shakes her head fondly, able to see a little more humour in the situation now that she knows Daryl is safe and not in danger.

She tries not to think about what the level of worry she felt for him might mean.

Just as she tries to ignore the heat in her stomach when he turns his eyes to hers.

* * *

"I thought Michonne took your guard shift?" Beth whispers as she sits down next to Daryl while everyone else is asleep.

"She did. She's over there." He points across camp, where Beth can see another figure sitting against a tree, facing away from them.

"What are you doing up then?"

"Could ask you the same thing."

Beth shrugs. "Just couldn't sleep."

Daryl nods and they rest in the sounds of the night for a few minutes.

But then Beth feels the words bubbling up inside of her and she just can't stop them.

"I thought you weren't coming back," she whispers, continuing when she feels him shifting beside her to look her way. "I thought something horrible had happened to you and that it was all my fault because I hadn't gone with you."

"Wasn't your fault, Beth," he reassures her.

"I know, but what if something had happened to you, Daryl? What if you hadn't come back?"

Daryl is quiet for a minute, "Beth, if that happens -"

She tries to cut him off, to tell him that it won't happen because she just won't allow it, but he doesn't let her.

"No Beth, listen. If that happens, you'll be safe with the group. Rick'll look after you. He'll keep you safe."

"I don't care about being safe, Daryl."

"Should be the only thing you care about," he snorts, "You should care about getting through this mess alive."

"You just don't get it, do you?" Beth shakes her head, smiling ever so slightly.

She can see the question reflected in his eyes in the silver moonlight.

Beth doesn't know how to answer it, so instead she just leans in and presses her lips to his.

Her heart hammers against her chest, terrified and humiliated when he doesn't respond.

But then, just as she is about to pull away and stammer out an apology, his lips move under hers.

And then his hands are on her arms, tugging her gently closer to him, deepening the kiss.

She can see the expression on his face when she pulls back slightly to catch her breath. Beth can practically read the thoughts that are running through his mind at a breaking speed as if they were written clearly on his face. She knows that when he sees his hands in the moonlight, darkened with dirt and grime and dried blood, against her pale skin, he sees something ugly.

He sees himself dirtying and ruining something incredibly pure.

But she doesn't see that. She could never see that.

She sees beauty in the contrast.

"Don't think those thoughts," she murmurs, pushing a loose strand of hair out of his eyes.

He looks like he wants to say something, but no words come.

Beth wishes she could let him see through her eyes. She wishes he could understand what she sees when he touches her.

She sees art in the slight trail of dirt that his fingertips leave on her skin as he caresses her arm so gently. She wants him to paint on the rest of her body like a canvas.

She looks at him like he is an artist and she wants to be his masterpiece.

She leans in and catches his lips again.

**Author's Note: ****What did you guys think of the new episode? I won't post anything on here in case anyone hasn't seen it yet, but come chat with me over on tumblr about it (fireandflood)! Thanks for all your support, lovelies. It honestly makes my day whenever I see feedback on this! You guys rock!**


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